In 1923, my grandmother, Mary, was asked to be the maid-of-honor for her best friend’s wedding. As the wedding approached in her hometown near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Mary wondered what the best man might be like. She had heard that Lou was also a recent immigrant from Czechoslovakia and also an available bachelor, but he wouldn’t be arriving until just before … Continue reading →
Hyphens are used to join two words that create a compound word with a two part meaning. We could say that I am an Italian-American. I don’t say that because I feel like being American has a great enough significance and I don’t want to cheapen being an American by making it share the stage with my Italian background. I … Continue reading →
The question is, What does 2 Peter 2:6 mean by Sodom and Gomorrah being an example of what will happen to the unsaved? This can be a puzzling verse for most Christians who have a picture of the unsaved burning throughout eternity in hell when the saved are enjoying the glory of heaven. However the verse and it’s parallel passage … Continue reading →
1 Timothy 2:12 is the proof text for teaching that women ought not to be teaching or preaching if men are present. It states, “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” Allow me to bullet point some considerations when seeking the proper interpretation and application of this … Continue reading →
I belong to a Facebook group of some 4000 small church pastors, and recently someone asked what “What would be your advice to a new pastor?” The first thought that came to my mind was “Study, study, study.” Then as I thought it over further, a slew of things came to mind, so here they are… • Study God’s Word, … Continue reading →
If we were to meet over coffee to talk about your hopes to plant a church, I would begin by asking you if you have developed a theology of pastoral ministry. A theology of pastoral ministry isn’t much different than having a theology of God or a theology of the return of Christ or any other conviction of biblical beliefs. … Continue reading →
Here’s why I don’t think the seal of God is Sabbath keeping and why I don’t think the mark of the Beast is Sunday keeping. Let me begin with the arguments that my Adventist friends are familiar with…(I do mean friends. I still love you all and am still thankful that God lead me into a Seventh-day Adventist Church on … Continue reading →
We find the concept of the Seal of God in the book of Ephesians and in Revelation. There is a definite connection between the two books on the Seal of God. Let’s beginning by looking at Ephesians 4:30 where Paul says “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” … Continue reading →
We find the concept of the Seal of God in the book of Ephesians and in Revelation. There is a definite connection between the two books on the Seal of God. Let’s beginning by looking at Ephesians 4:30 where Paul says “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” … Continue reading →
Here is something that makes me pause when considering the return of Jesus in a pre-tribulation rapture. It’s the use of the phrase “at the last day” as found in the Gospel of John. The reason it gives me pause, is because the Bible specifically mentions that there is only two resurrections, one for the saved and one for the … Continue reading →
There is a belief that during the 1000 years people will be born and people will die. Where does this idea of death being part of the saints experience of eternal life, post-rapture, and post-tribulation come from? The answer is Isaiah 65:20 which says “No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or … Continue reading →
Today at CrossHope Chapel we opened to Ephesians 4:17-32 and in case you missed it, here are some notes… The Apostle Paul uses the metaphor “walk” as a way to express how we live our lives. Walk is a descriptive word picture for the practice of our day to day living. It is used by the Apostle Paul and the other … Continue reading →
(This is not original with me, nor do I even know who compiled it, but it was something I got from another minister who got it from another minister who used it for a Bible Prophecy Seminar handout.) Luke 8:10 And He said, To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to … Continue reading →
Continue reading →(This is not original with me, nor do I even know who compiled it, but it was something I got from another minister who got it from another minister who used it for a Bible Prophecy Seminar handout.) Many of the numbers in the Bible have deeper prophetic or spiritual significance. Both in the Old and New Testaments, numbers … Continue reading →
Continue reading →I would like to suggest to my Seventh-day Adventist friends to substitute the word “Messiah” for the word “Sabbath,” every time you read it in the Bible or in the writings of Ellen White. I once had a New Testament professor who in teaching through the book of Galatians, suggested that when we read the word “law” we could add the … Continue reading →
Well, let me say the title of this post should more accurately be “Why Clemson Won – Possibly, Theologically Thinking.” My thought is that Coach Dabo Swinney of the championship Clemson college football team did such a powerful job at giving God glory that it struck me as possibly part of the reason Clemson may have won. During the nationally … Continue reading →
Here are the top 5 searched and viewed posts in 2018 from our www.crosshopechapel.org website. That means that people searched the internet for a specific topic or question and our website post came up on that search so with our #1 post there were close to 1000 people and the other posts were all around 100 people. I would never … Continue reading →
If you are looking to change up your usual Christmas songs, here are 10 of my favorites that are part of my 50+ songs Spotify Christmas playlist… Father Christmas by The Kinks Christmas by The Who Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley Merry Christmas From The Family by Robert Earl Keen Mele Kalikimaka by Bing Crosby Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer … Continue reading →
While the majority of my radio listening time is talk radio I periodically listen to my Spotify playlists, especially when I am down by the beach because of reception issues. This isn’t all I have in my playlists but the app says this it is the top 25 most listened to songs from my personal Spotify, counting down… 25. … Continue reading →
Don’t start a house church because you want to be in charge. That’s not a good reason. Worse yet, you can not sustain a house church if you just want to be the boss. My personal opinion is that it is perhaps the one really bad reason to want to start a house church. I happen to think that starting … Continue reading →
We share the same mom, at birth anyway, but her influence was just as intentional upon my life as with yours. You experienced her influence through the awesome privilege of knowing her, loving her, holding her, building a bond with her, while I have only had gratitude for her. That gratitude is all I carried with me for 54 years … Continue reading →
There was once a time while I was serving as a hospital chaplain that my family and I attended a new and growing Baptist church. We loved the fellowship, the church, the vision for growth, but there was one thing that use to drive me nuts…the pastor would often say “Why do you get so excited about your favorite sports … Continue reading →
Francis Chan has the left the mega church world and is now focused on ministry through his We Are Church house church network. I happen to like Francis Chan and I have a greater respect for his voice when it comes to advocating for simpler and smaller church groups and communities. Here is a video clip that I like and … Continue reading →
Here are some things to consider on unclean meats, as it came up in our discussion today. One awesome thing about our fellowship is our desire to provide an environment that points to the grace of Christ, His holy word, and allow each of us to grow in convictions according to the work of the Holy Spirit without the pressure of any … Continue reading →